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Tuesday, 6 September 2011

Fine For Birmingham Man Who Lied About Armed Raid

By Ben Aulakh

A Birmingham man who pretended to police that two armed raiders had burst into his flat and robbed him has been fined.

The 39-year-old male, from the Aston area of the city, dialled 999 at around 8.45pm on Friday August 26, claiming that two individuals had held him up at knife point, before making off with £750 in cash.

Officers raced to the supposed scene of the crime at the man’s Birchfield home, before taking him to Newtown police station to provide a victim statement.

While speaking to the man, officers soon became suspicious of his account of the incident.

A short time later, he admitted lying to officers and said he had made-up the story as he had a gambling debt.

The 39-year-old was given an £80 fixed penalty notice for wasting police time and making a false report.

Detective Inspector Pete Dunn, from Birmingham West and Central CID said, “Reports of robbery are taken very seriously and are thoroughly investigated.

“Not only will false reports be found out, they also waste the time of detectives who are dealing with other, genuine cases.”

“People should be warned that they will be fined or, maybe even arrested, if found to be falsely making such allegations.”